F2FF Arts

Pirjo Honksalo One of Finland's Finest!

2011-02-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

I first met filmmaker Pirjo Honkasalo when we were both teenagers. Her mother Leena, who passed away only last year, was my father's younger sister. I was four years old when my father took his little brood (my mom, my two brothers and myself) from Finland to Boston, Masachussetts to pursue his studies at M.I.T. All the wonderful relatives I would wait years to meet again stayed behind and prospered in Finland! What a joy it was to spend my summer holiday at the age of 16 in Finland, re-discovering connections with my extended family (on maternal and paternal sides) of aunts, uncles and beautiful, brilliant cousins.

'The 3 Rooms of Melacholia" (clip: below) is one of Pirjo's finest docmentaries; disturbing though it may be, this is a film you ought not to miss.

"A searing examination of the unrelenting Chechen conflict, observed through the prisms of a Russian military boys academy, a war-torn town and a children's refugee camp." (imdb)

A Finn? A Lover of Jazz? This One's for You!

2009-05-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Who was Einar Aaron Swan? Apparently, a very important figure in the world of early 20th century JAZZ in the United States! And until now, I knew nothing about him. Did you?

We can thank writer/researcher Sven Bjerstedt for digging up all that could possibly be known about “Swan” (his family name upon immigration to the USA - original was Joutsen). You can download the whole 80 page PDF on the Swedish-Finn Historical Society’s website for easy reading.

In Bjerstedt’s own words:

"I have always loved the song “When Your Lover Has Gone” by E. A. Swan and was very surprised to suddenly one day find out that Swan’s first name was Einar. It most definitely seemed to have a Scandinavian ring to it. I asked everyone I could think of for information on Einar Swan. Nobody seemed to know anything at all about him. That made me really curious..."

For a shorter biography, and to listen to some recordings of Swan’s works, go to the “Internet’s Original (1988) Composers and Lyricists Database”.

(Excerpted from "Internet's Original...") "Einar Aaron Swan was “b. March 20, 1903, Fitchburg, MA, USA, died August 8, 1940, Greenwood Lake, NY, USA. (Stroke). Age: 37. multi-instrumentalist/composer/lyricist/arranger, né: Einar William Swan. He later replaced 'William' with 'Aaron' of Finnish parents in Fitchburg, MA. (Photo credit: Worcester Telegram, April 24, 1927). In 1899, his father, Matti Aleksinpoika Joutsen (b. Oct. 7, 1877, Evijärvi, Finland) emigrated from Finland, and in America, changed his name to John Matthew Swan. In 1900, Einar's mother (née: Edla Maria Aaltonen. b. April 1, 1877, Koski, Finland) emigrated. Apparently, Edla was a fine singer."

You can also listen to Swan’s music on Jazzstandards. The writer on this site confirms Swan’s reputation as one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of his day:

“ ‘When Your Lover Has Gone’ was featured in the 1931 film Blonde Crazy, a comedy about con artists that starred James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ray Milland, and Louis Calhern. The song was immediately picked up by some of the top recording artists of the time: Ethel Waters and Her Ebony 4, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong.”

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKMxIVFRMdU

William Edward deGarthe (1907–1983)

2009-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

William Edward deGarthe (1907–1983) was born in Helsinki, Finland. After emigrating to Canada in 1926, he became a painter and sculptor and lived in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je4NXszEYmA

A Finnish Emigrant's Story by Lars Sund

2009-01-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

The film "Colorado Avenue," based on the book by Finnish author Lars Sund (b. 1953), and directed by Claes Olsson (left), made its debut on Friday, November 30, 2007 at the 18th annual St. Petersburg Finnish Film Week .

Set in in 19th century Ostrobotnia (Western Finland), and in the USA, the story follows 18-year old Hanna, who emigrates to America in 1893 determined to make her fortune in the Great West – specifically, Colorado. She does so, and ten years later, ‘Dollar-Hanna’ returns home to her village in Finland with a son (Otto) and a daughter (Ida), but without her husband, who met his death in the American miners’ strike of 1903.

Back home in Finland, flush with American dollars, Hanna buys land and opens a store. Her business is a great success and so is she. Hard work and persistence have paid off for Hanna, but with the onset of prohibition (1919), her son Otto gets caught up in a life of crime, becoming first a bootlegger, and finally, it appears, a murderer.

Interested in seeing the film? Depending on where you live, you may be able to download a copy (for a fee) from http://www.ameibo.com/movie/colorado-avenue/ .

Update: This film screened at the 8th Annual Tiburon International Film Festival (March 19-27, 2009), where "Colorado Avenue" star Nicke Lignell was named "best actor."

Video Gem:

Artist Ruth Mänttäri

2009-01-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

I am not a professional art critic, but I would venture to say that there are at least a couple of pieces in this collection of paintings by Mänttäri that even the 'educated' eye would find worthy of praise.

There isn't much about this artist to be found on the internet. A brief bio is included in one anthology - Life and Death: Writing Experience 2002 Anthology - all I could find. If anyone has any more info to share - a photo would be appreciated - please email me!

I found this slide show on an interesting 'film & animation' blog by Des out of Los Angeles, California. He provides this brief intro to the collection:

"The original paintings of Finnish artist Ruth Mänttäri , including the autographed limited edition Farscape paintings, set to the music of Nightwish's song "Death Makes An Artist" (Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan) from their "Once" Album. Ruth not only has had gallery showings of her art, but her work has also been published."

Ms. Mänttäri (if this is the artist) passed away in San Diego, California just this year (October 5th, 2008) at the age of 68.

Thank you, Des, for introducing her work to the world through cyberspace!

Death Makes An Artist - Nightwish - Farscape

Jorma Hynninen

2009-01-12T00:44:00.000-08:00

Finnish baritone Jorma Hynninen was born 3 April 1941 in Leppävirta, Finland. He studied from 1966 to 1970 at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and also took lessons from Luigi Ricci in Rome and Kurt Overhoff in Salzburg. Since then he has been a soloist at the Finnish National Opera (1970-90) and musical director (1984-90). He has also sung in various other countries.

(from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qb8P-l8t3s
(Jorma Hynninen Sings Die Winterreise)

Jukka - Pekka Saraste & the Toronto Symphony

2009-01-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

In 1986, approximately 40,565 Canadian claimed Finnish ancestry, with about 60% of that population living in the province of Ontario. If you figure 3% of any population has an interest in classical music, then you might expect to be able to draw about 1200 Finns to a concert. If you made the concert a hugely "Finnish" event, and bussed them in from across the province, you might get a larger audience.

I still don't know how the Canadian Friends of Finland (CFF) packed Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto for the performance of Sibelius' "Kullervo Symphony" by the CJRT Orchestra conducted by Paul Robinson in May of 1986, but I do suspect that the managers of the Toronto Symphony noticed that they had a potentially huge audience in Canadian Finns.

It wasn't long before the Toronto Symphony Orchestra had an internationally acclaimed Finnish conductor on the podium!

Jukka-Pekka Saraste held the post of Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1994-2001.

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqIo3a9bS4g

If you would like to chat about this blog, please post a comment on Finn2FinnChat (right sidebar).

Historic Performance of "Kullervo Symphony" in Toronto

2009-01-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

On May 3rd, 1986, the Canadian Friends of Finland (CFF) presented the Toronto debut of Sibelius' "Kullervo Symphony" with the CJRT Orchestra under the direction of Paul Robinson in Roy Thomson Hall. Soloists included Ritva Auvinen (soprano), Esa Ruuttunen (baritone), Laulan Ystävät Male Choir, Toronto Finnish Male Choir, and the Toronto Estonian Male Choir.

The CFF was in charge of ticket sales, and they packed the hall! The perfomance was close to 'sold out!' This, in a hall that seats 3,000!

The Finnish Arts Scene

2009-01-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

Leah Oates interviews Finnish artist and architect Jan-Erik Andersson.

Q: How would you describe the Finnish arts scene and the European arts scene? How does a European artist perceive the New York arts scene?

A: Finland is different because we have an extended grant system which makes it possible for several artists to work freely for 1-5 years. This is necesssary because of the lack of an art market. It has helped artists like Eija Liisa Ahtila to make an international career. I think we have a great art world in Finland. I curated an exhibition with artists from eastern Finland and the stuff they made was amazingly in touch with things I have seen on the international scene. So Intenet, TV and cheap flights have made, at least the western world, into one big unit. But of course there is one significant different. Not even the most famous artists in Finland gets rich! If you make it in bigger art centers you might find yourself operating with big sums of money, which gives you a certain freedom to do projects we in Finland couldn't dream of, like Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. Mariko Mori's projects are on the scale of a rock band. Unthinkable of in Finland. But it is possible that the small scale and local energies become more and more important, when environmental an sustainability issues become more and more imortant."

To read full article click on: http://www.nyartsmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6185&Itemid=712

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDRlQqCytq8
(Eija Liisa Ahtila)

A Joyous Ringing in of the New Year!

2009-01-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

I can't resist introducing you to the annual broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Day concert. If you have never watched it, check out your TV schedule for today (assuming 'today' is New Year's Day 2009 in your time zone!).

If you miss it, you can probably find a part of it on Youtube within the next week or so.

So...Happy New Year to you and yours! May 2009 bring you peace, joy, and prosperity! I would go on but I don't think I have to. You're probably wishing for all the same things I am wishing for...

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSKKLROWgOI
(Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Day Concert 2007)

Esa Pekka Salonen & the LA Philharmonic

2008-12-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

Biography

Early career

Salonen, born in Helsinki, Finland, studied horn and composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, as well as conducting with Jorma Panula. His conducting classmates included Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Osmo Vänskä. Another classmate on the composition side was the composer Magnus Lindberg and together they formed the new-music appreciation group Korvat auki and the experimental ensemble Toimii ("Ears open" and "It works" in the Finnish language). Later, Salonen studied with the composers Franco Donatoni, Niccolò Castiglioni and Einojuhani Rautavaara.

His first experience with conducting came in 1979 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, though he still thought of himself principally as a composer; in fact, Salonen has said that the primary reason he took up conducting was to ensure that someone would conduct his own compositions. In 1983, however, he replaced an indisposed Michael Tilson-Thomas to conduct a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London at very short notice without ever having studied the score before that time, and it launched his career as a conductor.^[1] He was subsequently principal guest conductor of the Philharmonia from 1985 to 1994.

Salonen was principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1984-1995.

Los Angeles Philharmonic

He made his U.S. conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1984. "I had no idea what to expect," Salonen said. "But the one thing that I didn't expect was when an older player came to talk to me after the first concert and said, 'Consider this your future home.' Something was going on, because I felt the same. I sensed with an absolute certainty that this orchestra, in whatever way, was going to be a very important part of my life. Always." He has conducted the orchestra every season since.^[2]

In 1989, he was offered the title of Principal Guest Conductor by Executive VP Ernest Fleischmann and was to take the orchestra on a tour of Japan; however, controversy ensued when Andre Previn, the orchestra's Music Director at the time, was not consulted on either the Principal Guest appointment or the tour, and objected to both. Continued friction between Fleischmann and Previn led to Previn's resignation in April 1989^[3]. Four months later, Salonen was named the orchestra's tenth Music Director, officially taking the post in 1992 and holding it ever since.

Salonen's tenure with the orchestra first began with a residency at the 1992 Salzburg Festival in concert performances and as the pit orchestra in a production of the opera Saint-François d'Assise by Olivier Messian; it was the first time an American orchestra was given that opportunity. Salonen later took the orchestra on many other tours of the United States, Europe, and Asia, and residencies at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, The Proms in London, in Cologne for a festival of Salonen's own works, and perhaps most notably, in 1996 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris for a Stravinsky festival conducted by Salonen and Pierre Boulez; it was during this Paris residency that key Philharmonic board members heard the orchestra perform in improved acoustics and were re-invigorated to lead fundraising efforts to complete construction of Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Under Salonen's leadership, the Philharmonic has become an extremely progressive and well-regarded orchestra. Alex Ross of The New Yorker said this:

The Salonen era in L.A. may mark a turning point in the recent history of classical music in America. It is a story not of an individual magically imprinting his personality on an institution - what Salonen has called the "empty hype" of conductor worship - but of an individual and an institution bringing out unforeseen capabilities in each other, and thereby proving how much life remains in the orchestra itself, at once the most conservative and the most powerful of musical organisms.^[4]

At the end of the 2008-2009 season, he is scheduled to relinquish his Los Angeles post to Gustavo Dudamel. Though November 2009 will mark the 25th anniversary of Salonen's premiere with the Philharmonic, he is not going to conduct the orchestra to commemorate the occasion, saying, "I'm going to give it a short break. I think that it's important for Gustavo to get going without the old guy hanging around too much and all that." He does plan to conduct the orchestra at some point in the future, and he is already in discussions with Philharmonic President, Deborah Borda, about future project in Los Angeles. He has also said that he would love to work together with Frank Gehry.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Photo Gallery: "Career retrospective: Esa-Pekka Salonen"

(excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx-SYDQK-k0
(Salonen conducts Sibelius)

Wishing You & Yours....

2008-12-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Welcome!

2008-12-18T19:28:00.001-08:00

Under Construction!